Just last month, Raoul Lavin of the City’s budget office, provided the first glimpse of the 2014 budget. His presentation focused only on the General Fund, which finances core city services, and indicated an upcoming deficit of approximately $5 million.

Yesterday, City Manager Anita Favors Thompson released her recommended 2014 (FY14) budget for review by the City Commission. A review of this budget shows that the City Manager has looked to revenues and not cuts to account for the $5 million deficit in the General Fund.

Ms. Thompson has proposed raising $2.3 million in new property taxes and, in what appears to be a one time stop gap measure, she is proposing a move of $3 million from the Capital Improvement program to the General Fund.

Also of note, according to city policies the transfer from the Electric Utility Operating Fund to the General Fund is supposed to be approximately $23.9 million. However, without explanation, the budget document proposes an increased transfer, in violation of city policy, of $2 million.

I find it hard to believe that we can not find cuts. Families all over the city are hurting, and yet we want to raise property taxes, as well as raise other fees and taxes. I thought COT was for helping our families in these trying economic times. Raising our taxes does NOT do this!

Why don’t they start being honest about what they’re really doing with our money. It’s amazing that they have no problem finding money for funding the militarist police state, unconstitutional surveillance. Maybe if they’d stop giving our money to UNited Nation’s ICLEI and other shadowy NGOs we could do away with taxes all together.
I remember an article a couple of yrs. ago where Scott was asked about Agenda 21, he claimed to not know much about it, but said he knew it wasn’t good for FL. … so what’s the Florida Forever Act still in place for? Why are we paying into things like ICLEI & their other tentacled agencies? Nobody asked us and we’re supposed to have no taxation without representation. We’re not broke… we are being robbed!